


failed perimeter escape

by eliaatan



Category: Trench - Twenty One Pilots (Album), Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Physical Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-08-20 09:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16553255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliaatan/pseuds/eliaatan
Summary: identified as failed perimeter escapeby dema councilviolation of section 13398642 14[ Many said that her best friend's reputation preceded her. Many said that she would one day suffer the same fate that he did if she kept up her antics. But when Isabelle "Izzy" Cross finally learns the truth about what happened to him, it will change her life forever. ]





	1. cover me

Cold water. Red cloaks.  
Yellow flower petals.  
It all felt like a dream.

*************************  
It’s been three months.  
To this day, she still didn’t know how she survived. But she did. She escaped and found them.

At first, she thought that they were just a hallucination. Going days without food or water in Trench can really mess up your head, so when they tried to speak to her, she didn’t bother answering their questions. 

Instead she ran. She ran as fast as she could on wobbly and weakened legs. The girl didn’t make it far before falling face first into the icy cold water. For a moment, she didn’t move. She just laid there and decided that if the vultures wanted to take her back to the city, then she would let them. There would be no use in resisting if she went back to that place. They broke her once and she knew that the Bishops would show no mercy for an escaped subject.

Once she accepted her fate, she felt warm hands on her back. She jerked, not wanting anyone or anything to touch her again. Her mind wandered to the scar on her wrist and the other one on the bridge of her nose. The marks were results of childhood...accidents back in the city. Nightmares of those events would often visit her in her sleep./p>

“Relax...I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

It was a man’s voice and it was a calm one. She guessed he could feel how tense she was in her back because afterwards, he pulled his hands away. He might’ve expected her to get up and introduce herself, but he was mistaken if that was the case. 

“You should get up. You’ll get hypothermia if you continue wallowing in the trench water.” 

The only response given to him was a growl. The last thing she needed was some dipwad telling her what to do. But at the same time, she was beginning to get very cold and her fingers were numb.

So she sat up. Her entire body ached from when the fall and she could feel and see a small pool of warm crimson liquid on the ground where she was laying. After bringing a hand up to her nose, she pulled it away and there was more of it.

“Damn it…”

“Here, let me-”

As he reached for her face, she smacked his hand away. It was one thing to touch her on the back, but her face was an absolute no touch zone.

“OW! What was that for? I was just trying to help.”  
“I don’t want you touching me. I can take care of myself.”  
“Well you’re doing a hell of a job. Anyone can see that from your bloody nose.”

She growled and crossed her arms.

“Go to hell.”

The stranger sighed and pulled out a white napkin from his coat pocket, then offered it to her.

“Then at least take this. It’s still bleeding.”

For a moment, she hesitated. Nobody had ever offered to help her back in Dema - not even the Niners. It was every man and woman for herself. But this stranger...he was different. 

“T-thanks…”

She took the small napkin and pinched her nose with it. The white quickly turned into the crimson color she had seen only a few minutes before. A sigh escaped her lips.

“You’re welcome. Now do you want to get out of here? It’s getting pretty cold.”

Her first instinct was to get up and run in the other direction. The Niners’ leader Nico was no doubt coming after her to drag her back to the Tower, and she wouldn’t allow that. This person was also a stranger and she had no idea where he might take her. For all she knew, he could be working for the Niners, or as the others in the city called them: the Bishops.

“I need to get out of here, but I can’t go back. I just can’t.”

“Go back? Where?”

“Where else would I go in this wretched wasteland? The city, you dumbass.”

The vulgar language must’ve taken him aback because he slowly backed away from her. Some laughter could be heard in the distance. The girl looked up and saw at least thirty others dressed in strange clothing on top of the Trench cliffs.

“Whatever. I was just trying to help. If you want to lay here and freeze to death, then be my guest. I have someone else to worry about anyway.”

The man turned and began to walk away. For a moment, she felt bad for snapping at him. He was just trying to help. Her mind was on one of her friends back in the city, and she had taken her frustration and worries for them out on him.

“Wait!” 

He kept walking. 

“The person you worried about...are they in Dema?” 

He froze in his tracks and turned around. It was then that she could see the details of his rebel clothes more clearly.

A yellow “X” made out of what appeared to be duct tape crossed his chest. He also donned an army green hoodie and a yellow bandana covered his face. The last thing she noticed was the yellow band of tape around his leg.

No.  
It couldn’t be.

In that moment, she couldn’t believe it.

They were real.  
The legends that they had told them weren’t myth.

The Banditos were here.


	2. here comes the eight

_They can’t see yellow._  
_It’s the color of rebellion._  
_Don’t trust them._

_EAST IS UP_

“I...you’re...this can’t be happening.”

The man sighed. He wanted to help this girl, but he didn’t know what to do. All she did was stutter, stare at him, and acted as she had just seen a ghost. Then again, in a way she had. There’s no telling what the Bishops tell their followers about the Bandito Underground.

“Look, are you going to sit here and stutter or are you going to come with me? The Bishops knows you escaped. It won’t be long before one of them catches up to you. Just like they caught up to Ty-”

He paused mid-sentence then shook his head and turned away. The girl tilted her head in curiosity.

"What were you about to say?” She asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” He muttered bitterly. It was clear that whoever he was thinking about was no longer with him. A pang of guilt and sympathy filled her chest.

“I’m sorry.”

He stopped then slowly turned around. It was silent for a few minutes before one of them spoke again.

“Don’t apologize. It isn’t your fault...now seriously, let’s go before-”

Although it was quiet, sounds of a horse’s footsteps could be heard in the distance. A Bishop was almost there.

"Shit... okay, let’s go.”

She got up slowly and approached the man in front of her. He watched her for a moment then started to walk away. He started to run when the horse was beginning to get closer.

“Hey wait!”

She ran but quickly lost track of the man. When she looked up at the cliffs again, the other Banditos were nowhere in sight.

She was alone.

“No... “

She slowly started to back up. For a moment, she examined her surroundings for a possible escape route. All that could be seen were rocks, ditches, and cold water. As she looked for a place to hide, she realized that the horse’s steps weren’t quiet anymore. Her Bishop would be here shortly.

“Not again… damn it! NOT AGAIN!”

She turned in the other direction and ran. It didn’t take long for her to start breathing heavily but she couldn’t stop now. Because stopping meant that she would be dragged back to Dema. There was no way she was going back to that place. No way she was-

The next thing she remembered was darkness.

**********

Her room in Dema looked exactly the same.

Bare gray walls. One single window that was several stories high – which meant death if she tried to jump out. A stiff mattress and thin blanket in the corner to sleep on. A desk to eat at. A small clock that never seemed to move.

Then there was the box. A box full of yellow flowers for every escape attempt she had made. There were seven inside of it now. Izzy sighed and laid back down on her bed. She should’ve known better than to trust them. They just left her there.

Her eyes were heavy. When sleep tried to claim her, the door opened.

“It is time, Isabelle.”

***********

As they escorted her to an unknown location, her eyes grew heavier with each passing minute. What was happening to her? Where were they taking her? She had to stay awake and fight them off. If she didn't, there's no telling what they might do to her.

"Don't fight it, Isabelle. Just let sleep claim you and I promise we will rehabilitate you. Now please...just rest."

It was a Bishop's voice. It wasn't her Bishop talking but she recognized who it was. Her best friend used to live in his district but she hadn't seen him in years. Rumor has it that he successfully escaped and joined the Bandito Underground.

That was bullshit. He wouldn't have left her there like the others had.

He always said that his Bishop was a gentle one. More than his other eight colleagues. She always mocked him for it and said that the Bishops never truly cared for their subjects. But right now, his voice sounded almost remorseful. It was as if he felt sorry for the young girl. Clancy used to always say that he had a soft spot for her but she never believed that either. Once she learned of his disappearance, she went into a deep depression for months. Keons tried to help her through it but she wouldn't let him. Eventually, she got over it and got back a sense of normalcy.

"Sleep child. We will wake you up when it's ready."

Something else was said but she couldn't hear it as she finally drifted off into the darkness.

*************

“Come on Izzy! They’re going to catch us!”

"Wait for me!"

As she ran, her legs quickly began to feel like rubber. Loud footsteps of the Bishops' horses could be heard behind them but she had to keep going. If she stopped or slowed down now, then she would be taken back to Dema and be in serious trouble. Nobody leaves the city.

Except for them. They had somehow made it out and past the neon gravestones of the lost. It creeped her out and she had asked to go back, but her friend had insisted that they keep going. They had gotten too far to quit now.

When she looked ahead, she noticed that he stopped and held out his hand. What was he doing?

"Come on! We don't have a lot of time!"

Her legs screamed in pain but she ran faster. Once she reached him, she took his hand and they ran together. Their names were called and they both recognized the voice belonging to Keons. There was no doubt that he was worried about his subject in the outskirts of Trench.

"We have to keep running. Look! There's a huge rock over there. Let's go hide."

Once they had reached the large rock, they hid behind it. Keons and the other Bishop called out their names once more. They looked for the two children for several minutes and when it seemed like they had given up, she peeked out then stood up.

"Hey...I think we're safe! Let's go-"

"IZZY NO!"

*************

Her eyes shot open and she sat up. In front of her stood Nico and eight other Bishops. She didn’t know all their names, but she did recognize Keons. He was probably the quietest and gentle of the Bishops. At least, that's what Clancy used to think.

Until he disappeared nine years ago.

The other rumor was that he died in Trench and that his body was buried. It was also said that his grave was marked by one of the many neon lights outside the Tower.

She still didn’t believe them.

The nine men in red surrounded her. She closed her eyes as the red hot brand touched her skin. A scream was muffled as Nico covered her mouth and tears filled the brim of her eyes. Once it was over, Keons wrapped her arm in bandages and they all left.

Once they were gone and the pain had temporarily subsided, she took off the bandages and looked at her arm. There was a fire red mark on her skin. It was only three letters.

FPE.

Failed perimeter escape.

A permanent reminder to herself and everyone else in Dema what would happen when one of them tried to escape. It took her a moment to also notice the black smears on her neck and hands. A second reminder of the consequences when they tried to leave.

Many of them believe that Dema was their home and that there was nothing in the wastelands outside the Tower. They were wrong.

Dema wasn’t home. It was a prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for taking so long to update. i'd like to thank those who left kudos and everyone who read the first chapter! i know this chapter wasn't as long, but i wanted to update this story with something and i was suffering from some writer's block. if this gets enough hits, then i will definitley continue to update! i recently left a job that i hated, so i have a little more time on my hands to write when i'm not devoting it to my online college classes. let me know what you guys think!

**Author's Note:**

> here it is! the first chapter of my new story finished and complete. i love twenty one pilots, and this world that they have created has inspired so many ideas for this new piece of work. please let me know what you think!


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